5 Minute Marinara

I love pasta. And as much as I love slow-cooked pasta sauces, 95% of the time I am too lazy/impatient for that kind of effort. But ready-made pasta sauces although convenient usually have oil in them and/or are expensive, so I started making my own! Cue fire roasted canned tomatoes and my beloved food processor.

This 5 minute marinara sauce is so quick and easy, I can go from hangry to a plate full of delicious in about 20 minutes (including making pasta.) I make the sauce while I’m waiting for water to boil, cook up some rice pasta, then drain it, add the pasta back to the pot, add the marinara sauce to the pot, mix it up, and it’s ready to go. Yep, I’ve reached peak pasta laziness efficiency–I don’t even heat up the sauce. If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll top it with fresh basil. It’s also great topped with nutritional yeast, vegan parm, or tofu ricotta.

If I have more time and some fresh veggies sometimes I’ll saute mushrooms, peppers, and onions in water and add them after mixing up the sauce. And sometimes lentils. I’ll probably do another recipe for my slightly less lazy version.

You can also use this sauce to liven up other starches/veggies like potatoes, rice, or spaghetti squash. It also works as a pizza sauce, though if you’re making it for that specifically you could add less water for a thicker sauce.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse/blend to desired consistency.

Heat if desired and serve.

Notes

*You can also use regular/whole canned tomatoes instead of fire roasted but you may need to add more spices.*Adjust spices to your liking as needed. *For a heartier sauce, try adding cooked lentils or a can of chickpeas.